Over the years, I acquired many collectable drums, cymbals, stands and pedals, percussion instruments, gadgets, etc. I have gone through two “purges” of selling my collections and am at the tail end of “thinning the herd” for the third and last time. I’ve owned and played close to every brand of drums and cymbals over the years. It helped that I owned two drum shops and had my pick of the litter! :-) What’s left are my favorite things - some new, some old. I am only keeping drums and gear that I actually use and a couple of drum sets that I keep for sentimental value though I do perform with them every once in a great while.

I’ve always used the same set up since I was young - 22” bass drum, 10”, 12”, 14”, 16” toms, 14” snare drums of varying depths, ride, 2 or 3 crashes, hats, splash and a china. I had some sets that had 20” and 18” bass drums, and even a 24” but was never without a 22” as my main kick. Sometimes I forego the 16” tom, the splash and the China on gigs where there is not enough space or the extra sounds are just not needed. Occasionally I will use one of the four piece kits with just one small tom if it’s a light weight gig, and I will occasionally use just a bass, snare, one cymbal and a hi hat for what I call ‘coffee house, unplugged, or ice-cream-and-cake gigs”.

I had one gigantic set when I was in my early twenties; A Gretsch 70s’ ‘Monster Plus’ set in antique maple that had six single headed toms and two floor toms; 6, 8, 10, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16 and 18. I gradually eliminated drums in that kit until it was 10, 12, 13, 14 toms, and 22” bass drum that I added bottom heads to and rewrapped in black.

The first ‘favorite things’ I’m showing here are the ones that have made my performing and my life easier:

Porter & Davies BCX Silent Bass Drum Monitoring System

I call this my “powered” throne. This is not a “buttkicker” which is quite different. This ingenious gizmo consists of a throne seat that has a special transducer built into it, and an amplifier. Any bass drum microphone can be plugged into the amp, and the throne top is connected to the amp with the included speak-on cord. The signal from the amp activates the transducer, or ‘speaker’, in the seat top, but it makes no sound. The vibrations of the transducer are heard and felt through bone conduction -and it packs quite a punch. Most of the gigs I play these days are without a monitor speaker for the drummer. In days of yore, when I was touring with recording artists, there was a big drum monitor with a subwoofer on the drum riser that made it very easy to hear the bass drum. In smaller venues where I play these days, I can hear most of the drums and cymbals in my set without a monitor, except the bass drum. Now, I have a bass drum microphone permanently mounted in the bass drum that is plugged into this P&D system and I can hear and feel the bass drum as well as I could with a big drum monitor with subwoofer, but without the loud ear damaging sound. I wear Westone Musician’s Ear Plugs on the gigs so my ears are protecting what little hearing I have left. There is also a line out from the amp to run a mic cable to the P.A. system. I literally can not play a gig without it. $741 including shipping if ordered directly from P&D in England. www.porteranddavies.co.uk.

So here is my rig. The amplifier is sitting in a Pearl single pedal case in the styrofoam that the unit was shipped in from P&D. Pure coincidence that it fit. The speakon cord that delivers powered signal to the seat fits nicely in one end. I have an a.c. strip in the other end for my fan, phone charger and other stuff to plug into. That case sits right by my throne. The microphone in the bass drum is mounted on a Kelly Shu suspension mount about four inches from the head. The mic cord plugs directly into the amp, and then there is a line out to plug a mic cord into to send the signal to the p.a. system. Simple

Yamaha FP-9D FP9 Direct Drive Single Bass Drum Pedal

I have tried every bass drum pedal invented since the advent of the Ludwig Speed King Pedal. This Yamaha top of the line pedal is the most well designed of them all so far and is my favorite so far. It is extremely comfortable, responsive and has engineering features that no other pedal has. I have a lot of problem with foot pain stemming originally from being born with club feet. I’ve since added Plantar Fasciitis and arthritis in my ankles to the pain soup. Jim Pettit at Memphis Drum Shop turned me on to this pedal. It is completely silent. I think this is due to the high quality bearings used at all movement points and to the direct drive linkage which has no play whatsoever. No “Speed King Squeak” or mechanical noises. The length of the foot board is a tad longer than most regular pedals, but just short of what is being called a “long board” these days. The length gives a little extra leverage. The bearing and lever on the bottom of the spring is attributing a lot of smoothness and quiet to the action. It is a very beautiful piece of machinery with polished aluminum footboard and glossy blue features. It comes in a very sturdy case. I am planning on experimenting with Lucas Jacobson’s speed torque cam that I have used on my pedals for a decade, but I haven’t felt the need for the extra leverage so far. It comes in a chain drive version as well. Buy at Memphis Drum Shop.

More of my favorite things to be written about in future issues:

Gretsch Renown ‘57 Red 6 piece drum set

‘71 Ludwig Classic Drum Set from Roger Hawkins

Mid 60s Tempro 4 piece Drum Set made in Japan

Gretsch 80s 4 piece Drum Set w “Hair Band” spurs

Famous Drums/Lawrence Drums 5 pc. Drum Set

Taye Parasonic 6 piece drum set including Taye BBS1405: 14"x5" Brushed Black Nickel Brass with die cast hoops. This is my work horse kit that I keep cased and loaded near the door to throw in the car and go do a gig. I was a Taye endorser and this is one of many sets that they gave to me when my friend Todd was in charge of the artist roster.

Noble & Cooley 7x14 snare drum 1986

Pearl brass sensitone 6.5 x 14 snare drum - winner of 2014 Snare Drum Olympics

Yamaha 3.5 x 14 snare drum David Garibaldi Signature model - blue brass

Ludwig 6.5 x 14 Supraphonic Snare with Acrolite bow tie lugs - dumpster find

Ludwig 14 x 12 Parade drum

Yamaha 5x14 steel student snare with Evans DB One Mesh snare head
Utilizing unique, 2-ply construction which combines a top layer of EVANS ShockWeave Mesh with all-new Snare Sim Technology, the dB One snare head transfers impact energy into sonic vibrations which mimic the crack and buzz of snare wire, while still maintaining a low volume. EVANS dB One mesh snare head allows you to add or remove standard snare wire to alter the snare response to your liking. For quieter drumming, remove snare wires to eliminate sympathetic snare buzz. The resonant head can also be tuned within a wide range of snare body tones, giving you sound control while allowing you to practice quietly, whenever and wherever you want.

Taye 12x4 mini Timbale w Lp snare set

Famous Drums /Joe Partridge “2x4” Snare Drum

Famous Drums / Joe Partridge “Tone Ring” snare drum

DelRay 5x14 snare drum - 60s Japanese Drum

Famous Drums /Evan Thomas Solid Ten Snare Drum

Famous Drums /Evan Thomas Solid Eight Snare Drum

Tama Classic cymbal stands - an almost identical to Ludwig 1400 flat base stands but with improvements of all the 1400’s weaknesses.

Yamaha Yamaha HS-1200 Direct Drive HI hat Stand - 3-leg

Eccentric Systems Quick Torque Cam

vinyl drum bumper pads

Innovative Percussion Legacy 5A hickory drum sticks wood tip and brushes, mallets

1985 H&B Tuxedo Cymbal Bag